Girls Basketball: Aquin bounces back to blow out Dakota

DAKOTA — Aquin’s performance in last week’s Dakota Turkey Tournament wasn’t indicative of the type of girls basketball team the Bulldogs expect to be this season.

On Wednesday, Aquin showed how good it still can be. Back on the same court where they were winless a week ago, the Bulldogs blew out Dakota 57-34 in an early-season NUIC East contest.

“All we wanted coming into this game was to win it,” Aquin junior Katie Stykel said. “It didn’t really matter how much, but knowing that we beat them by as much as we did is a real confidence booster. It kind of shows us that we are a good team. We can’t doubt ourselves.”

Stykel’s game-high 17 points paced Aquin (2-5, 2-0), which outscored the Indians (5-2, 0-1) in every quarter but didn’t turn the game into a rout until the fourth. The Indians were never able to sustain any momentum, largely because of a slew of turnovers. Some of those were caused by Aquin’s defensive press, which gave the Bulldogs opportunities on offense.

“We came into tonight with a little more confidence, a little more willingness to run the floor under control,” Aquin coach Jeff Curry said. “I think our defense was very good tonight when we pressed them. I thought the defensive effort was outstanding.”

Dakota managed to hang within two points until the final two minutes of the third when the Bulldogs began a 14-0 run that gave them an insurmountable lead on their way to the lopsided victory.

“They were quicker than us and more aggressive than us right from the opening jump ball,” Dakota coach Kevin Cline said, “and despite our pleas we just really never stepped up and matched Aquin’s aggressiveness the entire night.

To Cline, it was certainly no surprise to see such an improved performance compared to a week ago when the Indians were one of the five teams to beat Aquin in the season-opening tourney.

“Even last week when they went 0-5 I told everybody that would listen that all they need was a little time to define their roles and figure out where kids slotted into that rotation and they would be killing teams,” Cline said. “I said more than once in the last couple days that they could easily come out and wipe us out by 20 and they did just that. They’re a good team. Bottom line.”

Cassidy Arndt added 12 points and eight rebounds and Haley Chang had 10 points for the Bulldogs. No players reached double figures for Dakota in the disappointing loss. Jaycee Cleaver had a team-high seven points along with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Indians.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Winnebago 73, Eastland 68: A clash between two of northwest Illinois’ state basketball representatives ended with Winnebago staving off Eastland in a close game.

The Indians finished third in Class 2A last season, while the Cougars took fourth in 1A after losing in the semifinals and third place game by a combined three points.